How the Other Half Lives
by RockReddCardinal
Summary: I'm rotten at summaries. Martin sits in his attic-room, thinking about his life a little. Publishing shy-first attempt at this Please enjoy!


Martin sat alone in his attic-apartment, humming to tune out the sounds of the college kids roughousing downstars. He traced the lines on his journal with a thin finger, tapping the pen along to the humming. Nothing to write. Nothing good at least. He could write about the route he had flown (at least partially) that morning, or the jobs he had secured and worked through the hot afternoon. There was lots of little things he could write. Nothing interested him now. A half-turn in his chair allowed him to look out his little window. It was dusk, with no specific time in mind. He had no money for a clock, and his watch had been left on Gertie in his hurry to get to his job. He figured it might be about seven, then two hours since he ate. The taste of ramen noodles, a new experiment at a cheap meal, lingered bitterly in his mouth. His stomach growled. Turning away form the window, he grabbed his toothbrush off his shelf and tried to scrub the taste away. He had read in a weight-loss magazine that had been left out for waiting people at the airport that brushing one's teeth could curb appetite. Dropping the toothbrush back onto the shelf in dismay, Martin pushed pad and paper to the side and rested his head on the low desk, making sure to press up with his knees to prevent the desk from collapsing as it often did if weight was rested on it without support from beneath. Folding his hands under his chin, he closed his eyes to think. Thinking was his best form of entertainment in his off time. It was a restful time, it was good to recoup, and it didn't cost him anything.

He thought about his biological family briefly, about mum and Simon and Caitlyn and how long it had been since he'd even heard how they were. Frowning, he pushed that thought away. They didn't care. He thought about his real family next: MJN. Carolyn wasn't too nice, but she did have some sort of a heart in there somewhere; Douglas mercilessly teased him, but he was occasionally known to swoop in as a hero would to pull the "family" out of another jam; Arthur certainly wasn't too bright, but for sure he loved his "family" more than anything. A smile spread across Martin's face and a few tears began to well themselves in the corners of his eyes. A family indeed. A bickering, dysfunctional, caring family. Just what everyone needs. Just what Martin had waited years to find. More tears sprang up when he thought about the inevitable, however. MJN couldn't carry on forever. If anything was to happen to Carolyn, it would all be over. Not even Arthur's passion and vigor nor Douglas's clever way of making everthing turn up right in the end could hold the family together forever. The tears began to spill down his cheeks now, a salty taste pooling on his pouting lip. How many job applications had he secretly scrapped? He couldn't lie to himself. With his determination, he could surely land some job that would really pay him, that he could call a profession. But somewhere deep down made him throw away an application, or botch an interview, because he knew another inevitable thing: he loved his family, his patched together, disorganized, uncooperative family that he wouldn't, couldn't leave behind. No career ladder or job offer could tear him from the bonds he'd made with MJN's crew. He was trapped in their embrace. And he didn't mind one bit.

When Martin opened his eyes again, the quiet dusk had turned into the morning's first rays. He looked at his calendar. Scrawled on today's date, it said "Interview at 10 sharp". As he strode to his small closet and picked off the rack his one dressy outfit, he heard his cell phone ringing from the pocket of his MJN uniform. He looked at the number. Carolyn. He took a quick look at the suit before dropping it on the closet floor and flicking the phone open.

"Hello, Carolyn? Service to Minsk leaving at nine? Wouldn't miss it for the world. I mean, of course, Carolyn. Be there in an hour. Bye."

Martin snapped the phone shut and pulled his gray shirt off over his head, exchanging it for a crisp white one. Buttoning up his clothes and slinging his coat over his shoulder, he marched out of the room and down the rickety stairs smiling like he hadn't done in a long time. He may have been near dirt-poor, and that he would admit, but right now, he was the captain of an aircraft, and he had to get in early to make sure he didn't miss anything extrordinary. Or for him, just another day on the job at the world's only airdot.


End file.
